Good numbers can't produce volleyball win

November 7, 2014

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BATON ROUGE, La. – The University of Arkansas volleyball team again hit well but couldn’t get the win dropping a Southeastern Conference contest at LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Sunday. Arkansas (4-11, 1-4 SEC) fell 21-25, 22-25, 15-25 to the Tigers (8-5, 3-3) after hitting .269 as a team. Senior Christina Lawrence was just shy of a career-best with 15 kills and a .500 hitting percentage for Arkansas. Freshman Phoebe Bautista tallied a team-high 13 digs and freshman Kelli Stipanovich was good for nine kills and a .348 hitting percentage. LSU, however, managed a .410 hitting percentage with two players in double-figures. The Tigers got 13 kills from Tania Schatow and 12 from Brittnee Cooper as well as 18 digs from libero Elena Martinez. “I can’t say enough about Christina,” said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. “She played so well today. Again we put up some good numbers but we’re just not putting the complete match together yet. We’re going to go home, regroup and get ready for next weekend.” Arkansas hosts Alabama Friday and Mississippi State Sunday in Barnhill Arena. Arkansas had several chances in the first set to take control of the evenly-matched battle. The set was tied seven times and Arkansas trailed by one, 21-20, late in the frame. The Razorbacks committed a hitting error followed by a Tiger kill as the set stretched out of reach. Despite the loss, Arkansas hit a solid .351 with 16 kills, five from Stipanovich who hit .455 for the set. But LSU was better, hitting .514 with 20 kills paced by six kills from Brittnee Cooper in the win. The Razorbacks’ numbers were again good in the second set but still Arkansas could not steal the win. Arkansas hit .353 with Lawrence stepping up with seven kills and a .667 hitting percentage but the Razorbacks couldn’t score points when they needed them the most. Arkansas trailed the entire set but pulled within one, 21-20, late in the set. A pair of Tiger kills and a block sealed the LSU win. The third set was all LSU as the Tigers opened a 4-0 lead and Pulliza took his first timeout. LSU continued to dominate the frame, going up 11-3, and Arkansas called its final timeout. But Arkansas’ third-set numbers tell the tale as the Razorbacks hit .091 while LSU continued on its steady pace with a .394 hitting percentage. The Razorbacks return to Fayetteville hosting Alabama and Mississippi State next weekend. For tickets and more information about Arkansas volleyball, please log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.